


Halloween Surprises

by livefree_13, lod, RomeoandAntoinette, Skye_Maxwell, treya_barton



Category: Persona 4
Genre: Established Relationship, Fade to Black, Fluff, Innuendo, M/M, Making Out, Round Robin, smooches galore, welcome to the insanity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-31
Updated: 2019-11-02
Packaged: 2021-01-15 15:21:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 14,886
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21255497
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/livefree_13/pseuds/livefree_13, https://archiveofourown.org/users/lod/pseuds/lod, https://archiveofourown.org/users/RomeoandAntoinette/pseuds/RomeoandAntoinette, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skye_Maxwell/pseuds/Skye_Maxwell, https://archiveofourown.org/users/treya_barton/pseuds/treya_barton
Summary: Yu goes home to Inaba, and to his new boyfriend, for the weekend of Halloween and has an excellent time.For halloween,@treya_barton,@livefree_13,@Skye_Maxwell,@RomeoandAntoinetteand@loddecided to write a round robin fic, which means each of us left off on some sort of cliffhanger and let the next person write what came next. This is the silly, smoochy, amazing masterpiece of a result. Enjoy it ;)





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter by lod

Yu sat in the train to Inaba, growing more and more excited as towering buildings were replaced by scattered towns and then by rice fields, the landscape turning rural as he got closer to home. He still wasn’t sure what miracle had convinced his parents to not only let him return for a Halloween visit, but also skip school for an entire Saturday, giving him two entire days in town. Part of him kept worrying that he was going to suddenly wake up, all this having been just a dream.

It wasn’t that his parents were awful people, for all that they were rather absent, but they cared a lot about hard work and academics. And, most of the time, Yu shared their viewpoint; applying himself to his schoolwork came naturally. In this situation, though, he was more than willing to make an exception. Spending all his free time on make-up work the following week was a very fair exchange for getting to see his friends again.

The last time he’d seen them had been over summer, when he’d come to stay in Inaba for a few weeks, and his next trip had originally been planned for Christmas. Four months wasn’t _that_ long, he knew, especially when he and his friends kept in touch every day on email or chat, but… well, he had a particular reason for wanting to come back earlier. A reason with caramel eyes and the brightest smile this side of the Pacific. A reason that had called him up at 2 am on his last night in Inaba that August and had asked him to come to the floodplain, where he’d awkwardly admitted feelings Yu had never in a million years dreamed would be returned.

So yes, four months apart from friends was not the end of the world, but four months apart from a brand new boyfriend was an entirely different affair. Yu had spent just about every free moment since his parents had given him the train tickets daydreaming about their reunion. He was doing so even now, as he watched the drizzling rain hit the train window. Would Yosuke have that adorable shy blush? Or would he be confident, at ease? Both options sounded perfect. Really, any situation involving him, Yosuke, and nobody else, sounded perfect.

Of course, they wouldn’t get to spend the whole weekend holed up in Yu’s bedroom, as much as Yu would have been ok with that. When his friends had found out he was coming back, they’d all started making plans for him; even those he spoke to less often—Ai, Kou and Daisuke, Naoki and the rest—had joined in. In the end, they’d apparently decided to throw a large costumed party that Saturday evening. He wasn’t entirely clear where it would be happening; perhaps at Ai’s home, or at the Inn. Yosuke would have all the details, anyway. Knowing him, he’d probably organised most of it.

He also wanted to catch up with just the IT, and of course, spend some time with Nanako. Despite all that, he was determined to make sure he and Yosuke got a chance to be alone; his train had been early that August morning, and they’d barely done more than hug before Yu had forced himself to get back to bed. He had two months of waiting to make up for.

Before long, it grew completely dark outside. Taking the train after school on a Friday meant he wouldn’t be getting to Inaba before it was well into the night, but his uncle had said it was no problem picking him up. He often worked that late, anyway. After a few more hours, during which Yu’s excitement faded into sleepiness, the train finally arrived in Inaba. Yu shouldered his duffle bag and stepped onto the platform, expecting to find Dojima waiting for him, but to his surprise...


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The next section of our collaborative Souyo Halloween story :) Find out what happens when Yu arrives at the train station~

...the platform was completely empty. As Yu stepped off the train, duffle bag slung over his shoulder, he swiveled his head to look around the train platform, standing still once he verified it was indeed empty as the few other passengers shouldered past him on the way to their vehicles or taxis waiting to take them home. Yu was baffled, for while his uncle was a busy man, he had never once failed in his duty to pick him up or arrange to make sure Yu was taken care of. Yu’s brows furrowed together in confusion as he pulled out his phone, checking to make sure he didn’t have any missed calls or messages warning him of a change of plans or if his uncle would be late. There was nothing, no new messages, no news of anything amiss.

Yu stared at his phone for several moments, pondering whether or not he should text his uncle or call him, while also considering if he should try the house phone or his uncle’s cell first. Dojima seemed to struggle to use said phone, but was able to respond to texts and answer when it rang, even if pretty much everything else was out of his realm of expertise. Yu absentmindedly gripped the strap on his bag as he considered his options, so deep in thought that it took him a moment to process the fact that someone was calling for him. “...ner. PARTNER!”

Yu nearly dropped his phone in surprise, for he immediately recognized that voice. His head flew up to see the one person he most wanted to see rushing toward him, out of breath from sprinting all the way to the train platform from the parking lot. It seemed Yu wasn’t the only one who had lost some of the stamina he had gained last year during their adventures in the Shadow World since Yosuke halted in front of him, bending over in order to catch his breath, while giving Yu a rather nice view of the back of his neck. Yosuke’s hair had grown out a little from that summer, but it appeared he was keeping it trimmed so it was still much shorter than it had been last year. Yu was so distracted in marveling over the fact his partner - his  _ boyfriend  _ \- was here that it took him a moment to realize Yosuke had caught his breath enough to speak again.

“...so I rushed over as soon as we closed to pick you up. I’m sorry I was late,” Yosuke said, standing up to give him a sheepish look. Yu struggled to figure out if he had comprehended anything Yosuke had said, for he was still reeling over the fact he was here with him right now. His mind became even more muddled as Yosuke suddenly leaned forward, studying his face closely and causing Yu to feel a blush run up the back of his neck. “You changed your hair. I can finally see your eyes,” Yosuke said with a grin, playfully tugging on Yu’s bangs that were indeed shorter. He had on a whim gotten a haircut last weekend in preparation for the trip. He was happy Yosuke had noticed.

“So, why are you here?” Yu asked bluntly, regretting it the moment the words slipped out of his mouth. What he should have said was how happy he was Yosuke was there, but fortunately Yosuke knew him well enough to interpret his meaning.

“Did you not hear what I had just said?” Yosuke asked, flashing Yu an amused grin as he slung his arm around his shoulder. Yu felt his shoulders relax at the comforting familiarity and closed his eyes as Yosuke’s fresh, citrusy scent washed over him. It had been far too long. “I asked your uncle if I could pick you up tonight. I was supposed to get off work earlier, but the person who was supposed to close called out so I got stuck at work. I rushed over as soon as we closed so I could pick you up,” Yosuke patiently explained. He had started walking them down the platform and toward the entrance where the parking lot was located. “Also, I kind of insinuated that my dad was driving us over but I came on my scooter so I really hope he’s not waiting outside when we get to your place…”

Yu couldn’t help but snicker at that, knowing that while Dojima had trusted him to give him his scooter, he probably wouldn’t be too happy at the thought of two people riding together on one. “He probably won’t be,” he replied.

“I sure hope so,” Yosuke mumbled. He then pulled away, immediately causing Yu to miss his warmth. It suddenly struck him how much cooler Inaba was in the fall than Tokyo; he should have worn a heavier jacket. He looked over at Yosuke, and realized that he was fidgeting nervously, which caused Yu’s pulse to accelerate in anticipation. He could only imagine a few reasons why his partner would suddenly look so nervous, and all of them were related to where things had left off the last time they were together.

It seemed like Yosuke had gotten hold of his resolve, for Yu felt a surge in their bond as the brunet turned to face him. Yu watched him expectantly, curious over what he would do next, and was pleased when Yosuke suddenly threw his arms around him before pulling him close. Yu leaned into the hug, appreciating once again being wrapped in Yosuke’s warmth, and he couldn’t help but smile fondly when he heard Yosuke’s voice against his ear say, “Welcome home, Yu.” 

Yu wrapped his own arms around Yosuke in appreciation, before softly replying, “It’s good to be home.” He was content to get this much out of Yosuke, and he couldn't help but feel oddly proud as he realized Yosuke’s heart appeared to be beating just as rapidly as his own. Yu yet again closed his eyes, willing time to just stop in order to allow him to appreciate this moment for awhile. Thus, he was surprised when Yosuke shifted and he felt something warm and soft press against his lips, holding only for a brief moment and leaving a tingling sensation in its wake.

Yu’s eyes flew open and he stared at his boyfriend, who was nervously rubbing the back of his neck while he shyly looked away. “Let’s get you to your place. Nanako’s waiting for you and I know if I’m too late your uncle will start to get suspicious. I kind of want to stay on his good side,” Yosuke said, turning around and rapidly walking away. 

Yu picked up his pace and reached for Yosuke, wrapping his arm around his shoulder as his partner so often did to him, causing him to halt in surprise. Yu pressed a kiss to Yosuke’s cheek, grinning as his cheeks turned red in surprise, and began walking them toward Yosuke’s scooter in a much more even pace. After a moment, Yosuke tugged at Yu’s arm, sliding it off of his shoulder and instead opting to wrap his fingers around his hand, adjusting his hold until their fingers linked together. Yu grinned at him, squeezing their fingers together as they made their way to Yosuke’s scooter where two helmets were resting, waiting for them to wear.

Once they reached Yosuke’s scooter, Yosuke reluctantly pulled away his hand in order to hand Yu one of the helmets before reaching over to grab his own. Yu slid the helmet over his hair and adjusted his duffle bag over his shoulder so he wouldn’t have any trouble with it on the trip to his uncle’s. He watched as Yosuke got onto the scooter, sitting further up on the seat than normal in order to give Yu some space to sit behind him, and Yu couldn’t help but feel a little bit of anticipation. He vaguely remembered one of Yosuke’s reasons for wanting a scooter in the first place was so he could one day have a girl ride with him, and now that he was faced with the situation he suddenly understood the appeal. He couldn't help but feel slightly amused that Yosuke was finally getting his wish, although in a way he probably would have never expected when he originally had the idea.

Yosuke seemed to catch the drift of his thoughts, and he suddenly crossed his arms defensively while looking away from Yu in embarrassment. “Getting on?” he asked, and Yu climbed on behind him before securely wrapping his arms around Yosuke’s waist.

“Sure you’ll be ok to drive the two of us?” Yu asked, and Yosuke let out a slight huff.

“I’ll have you know I am an excellent driver,” he replied confidently, before pushing up the scooter’s kickstand and preparing to get moving. Yu couldn’t help but feel a little nervous, but after a moment he closed his eyes and put his trust into his partner. He knew Yosuke would never do anything that would hurt him. “Ready?” Yosuke asked, turning his head around to look at him, and Yu nodded in reply. Yosuke then grinned before turning around and pushing them off in order to get started. They were a little wobbly for a moment as Yosuke got used to his added weight, but true to his word the scooter soon righted itself and they were on their way.

It was even colder on the bike with the cool air whipping past them, so it didn’t take long for Yu to press closer against Yosuke, resting his head against his shoulder as he huddled against him for warmth. Yosuke didn’t seem to mind the clinginess, and Yu could tell that he appeared to be smiling. “Sorry I’m not a girl,” Yu teased, and although he couldn’t see it he knew Yosuke was rolling his eyes at him.

“You’re my partner, so honestly this is even better,” he replied, and Yu blinked in surprise before feeling his cheeks warm at Yosuke’s honest answer. He squeezed a little harder in response, and was suddenly glad that the trip to his uncle’s from the train station was relatively far for the small town, even if it was chilly outside. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> in this exciting installment, things continue to move at a snails pace.   
this chapter makes it clear why we all had to go around several times to get the story going ;D

Most of the clouter residing in the Dojimas’ driveway scattered the minute Yosuke’s scooter pulled up to the front gate. Only the friendly orange tabby (who now appeared much thicker around the middle than he used to) remained, happily grooming his tummy and finally stopping to peer up at the duo as they dismounted the bike. Yosuke took Yu’s helmet from his outstretched hand as Yu knelt down to give the cat a few chin scratches. Other than being fatter, he looked the same healthy cat as always. 

“I think he missed you,” Yosuke said. Yu couldn’t see him but he heard the scooter’s back compartment open as Yosuke put their helmets up. 

“It’s always good to see this guy. Glad Nanako seems to be feeding him . . . although, it’s probably a little _ too _much,” Yu laughed. 

“Oh . . .” 

Yu turned his head to peer at Yosuke, who was still trying to fit both their helmets in his scooter’s locker. 

“That . . . _ may _be my fault then,” he said around a sheepish smile. “I’ve been sneaking him some food the past few weeks.” 

Yu snickered and turned back around to the cat. “That does explain it.” The cat purred as Yu gave him a good scratch around his scruff. “You’ve been spoiled lately, haven’t you?” The cat removed his head from Yu’s palm and fell back onto the concrete, rolling over onto his back and curling his body into a playful ball. His tail thumped on the concrete as he stared up at Yu.

Yosuke groaned as he kneeled down next to Yu and let out a heavy sigh. “You little stinker.” He held out his hand and sprinkled a small mound of dried chicken treats right in front of where the cat lay. His round body righted itself instantly and began scarfing them down, as if he hadn’t eaten in days. 

Yu snapped his head towards Yosuke. “You’ve been carrying _ cat treats _ around with you?”

Yosuke shrugged, looking completely innocent as he stretched out his hand one more time and held out a small box in Yu’s direction. “This, too.”

Yu’s chest clenched suddenly as he studied the object with unblinking eyes. It was wrapped plainly in a construction paper-like wrapping. Yosuke had doodled a picture of . . . his own face, judging by the person’s hairstyle, winking beside a cluster of small hearts. Below that, the words “Happy Birthday” appeared in what Yu imagined was Yosuke’s best demonstration of proper handwriting to date. 

“What . . .” 

“You’re not seriously gonna ask what that is, huh?” 

Yu slowly turned his head to face him, mouth agape. 

“It’s your birthday present,” Yosuke insisted, and all at once, the humor drained from his voice and face. He looked demure again, like he had just after he’d kissed Yu at the train station. 

Yu hadn’t received a birthday present in . . . many years, and certainly never before his _ actual _birthday. He couldn’t help but stare dumbly at the small, unassuming yet lovingly decorated object he now held in his hands. 

“You don’t have to open it now if you don’t wanna; you can wait ‘til your actual birthday. I just . . . knew I wasn’t gonna get to see you then, since it’s next week and all.” 

Yu swallowed back the sting in his eyes as he took in the details of Yosuke’s doodles once again. He actually _ did _want to open it, because he’d never been able to hold back his own curiosity, but damaging the wrapping paper was unthinkable. He fretted for a few seconds, unable to get his fingers to work. Beside him, Yosuke stayed quiet; Yu could feel his eyes on him.

Gingerly, Yu felt around to the sides of the box and found that the ends of the paper had been loosely taped down. He tugged each end open without much effort, his heart racing as he started to steadily unfold the entire thing section by section to finally reveal a dark cardboard box with a shiny white logo. A picture of a handsome wristwatch was displayed beneath it.

“I’m not sure if you like that brand, but since you said your old one stopped working I thought it was worth a shot. Oh, a-and don’t worry, I got you the black one.” Yosuke finished with a laugh, which Yu immediately turned his head to catch. 

He wanted to say ‘thanks’, but it didn’t seem right. _ No _words did, at the moment. He tried to smile - an effort Yosuke seemed to appreciate, since he returned a much larger one of his own. Yosuke’s hand came up to smooth down his back and a second later Yu was leaning in towards him. 

Yosuke met his lips just before Yu could get there. 

Since Yu had been the initiator this time, he actually got the chance to appreciate how tender and warm Yosuke’s lips felt as they gingerly kissed him back. They were smooth and surprisingly full, and Yu could hear the same hitch in his breath Yosuke always made the very few times they’d kissed. The autumn wind nipped at Yu's ears but his face was warm when they pulled back an inch. His eyes roved over Yosuke’s flushed cheeks and mouth. 

“Sorry, I don’t know what came over me,” Yu whispered. 

Yosuke quirked a small smile, blinking slowly, dazedly, down at him. 

Yu nudged closer, until Yosuke’s breath was once again beating against his lips -- 

\-- that’s when the door opened, flooding the darkened pavement beside them with a beam of yellow light. Encased within it was the distinctive silhouette of…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> stay tuned for the next adorable installment from romeo!!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The shadow's identity becomes clear.

“Big bro?” a timid voice asked from beyond the doorway. The dim light from the house’s entryway gave her shadow a deceptively menacing look, complete with long limbs and an exaggerated frame that appeared to have startled the couple out of their amorous daze.

Yu released a sigh of relief. His hand released the patch of shirt he’d clutched over his thudding heart.

Meanwhile, the surprise made Yosuke heave loudly. He doubled-over as a stream of whispered curses fell from his lips.

“ _ Holy shit _ ...that scared the hell out of me!” he laughed. “I thought I was a dead man.”

“No kidding,” Yu husked in solidarity.

While his cousin’s sudden appearance had given him a rather intense start, he found himself unable to stay bothered. After all, if there was one sound in the entire world that could have pulled Yu’s gaze away from Yosuke’s lips and blushing cheeks, it was seeing her again. Glimpsing the excitement in her face always filled Yu with joy. Even though they’d been apart for a few months, he didn’t feel a single blip in their connection.

When Yu lifted his face to the doorway’s light, the little girl’s apprehension evaporated. She pushed the door open with a strident thud than what the neighbors could have considered polite at such a late hour. For once, Nanako didn’t care if people were angry.

She ran to Yu and flung her arms around his waist. 

The impact nearly knocked him off his feet. He swayed briefly before recovering with a burst of mirth.

“Hey there, Nanako!” he cooed. “It’s good to see you too! Say, have you gotten stronger?”

She nodded proudly. “Yep! I’ve been gardening a lot and learning to fish, big bro. Dad says it’s making my muscles stronger!”

“I think he might be right,” Yu commended. He gave his arm a light flex. “I may have to ask you to train me. I’m a little out of practice.”

The corners of Yosuke’s eyes crinkled in delight at the sight, and sound, of his partner’s palpable joy. Although Yu probably didn’t realize it, his voice always rose an octave whenever he chatted with Nanako. When they talked to each other, they chirped like songbirds.

Yu’s statement made Nanako’s expression light up with almost comedic concern. “Oh no! Don’t worry, big bro! I’ll help you.”

He laughed and made a steeple with his hands in front of his face. “It would be my honor to train with you, Sensei.”

Others rarely heard the otherwise deadpan teen laugh so loudly, but for people like Nanako and Yosuke, the sound had become commonplace. That is, prior to his departure a few months ago.

“I’m just so happy that you’re really here!” she exclaimed in delight. “I missed you, big bro!”

“I missed you too, Nanako,” Yu said, and he meant it. “Yes, I’m really here.”

One of his hands held the small of her back while the other ruffled her hair, which was freed from its usual pigtails in favor of a more casual style. It looked like the little girl had been getting ready for bed when she’d heard the scooter hum outside. It wasn’t like the tranquil countryside of Inaba served as much of a noise buffer.

“What do you mean ‘really’ here?” Yosuke asked as he playfully sauntered over to the pair. “Did you think your big bro would play such a mean trick on you?”

The little girl’s eyes softened for a moment. Tiny fingers curled into her cousin’s shirt. “I thought… maybe I was dreaming.”

The sentence hung heavily in the air. Even Yosuke let out a little sound of surprise at her candidly pure answer. The two exchanged a wide-eyed glance before Yu bent down and scooped her smaller frame into a tight hug. With a sweeping motion, he lifted Nanako high into the air and twirled her overhead.

Then, Yu looked at Yosuke and beckoned him closer.

Suspicious and also incredibly curious, Yosuke sidled over to the two cousins slowly. Then, Yu wound his free arm around Yosuke’s waist and brought the three of them into a tight squeeze right on the sidewalk.

Yosuke yelped in surprise while Nanako threw her arms high into the air like she was riding a roller coaster at Tokyo Destinyland.

“Yay!” the young girl cheered. “Group hug!”

“Partner… I can’t breathe…” Yosuke gasped over-dramatically.

Never one to be outdone, Yosuke was immediately determined to supplement Yu’s surprise gesture with his own batch of surprising theatrics. The teen went limp like a ragdoll, shifting all of his weight forward until the only thing keeping the teen upright was his boyfriend’s embrace. While the average passerby might have been convinced that the fawn-haired teen has actually fainted, Yu didn’t feel a smidge of additional pressure or weight. His boyfriend was staying upright of his own accord so that he didn’t hurt Yu or cause Nanako to possibly lose her grip and fall. 

While Yosuke always enjoyed entertaining Nanako with his antics, he never put her in harm’s way.

“Oh no, Big Bro-suke!” Nanako cried in mock terror.

“Everything is… getting so dark…” Yosuke whispered as he laid one of his hands across his forehead and fluttered his eyes shut, like some kind of damsel from a movie poster. Yu rolled his eyes while Nanako giggled again, clearly having the time of her life.

Then, a fourth voice joined their cacophony of delight.

“Ahem.”

Freezing on the spot, Yu slowly swiveled his head over his shoulder in the direction of the sound. Standing no more than a few feet away was the familiar face of...


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A scary character makes an appearance ;)

This time, Yosuke’s body actually went limp in his arms, and even Yu found his legs going weak. It took him a moment to remember how to speak.

“_Kashiwagi?_” he breathed, horrified. She stood before a streetlamp, face cast into deep shadows and arms almost violently crossed beneath her breasts. All that was missing were two yellow eyes and Yu would have been reaching for a card to crush.

“Yes, I do happen to live in this town,” she replied in a flat tone. “There’s no need to act like you’ve just seen a ghost. Now perhaps you’d like to get indoors, before you wake the entire neighborhood up?”

“Y—yes ma’am!” Yosuke exclaimed, pulling Yu and Nanako through the door with him and slamming the door shut after them. The two boys turned to look at each other, leaning back against the door and panting.

“That,” Yu said once he’d caught his breath, “was _definitely_ the scariest thing I’ll see this Halloween.”

Yosuke dissolved into loud peals of laughter, letting himself slide to the floor as Nanako looked on, confused.

“Who was that?”

“That was Miss Kashiwagi,” Yu explained. “She was our homeroom teacher last year.”

“Oh…” Nanako seemed to consider that information, before saying, “She didn’t look very nice.”

“No,” Yosuke agreed, “she wasn’t. And she had some _weird_ ideas. I’m surprised she hasn’t gotten herself fired yet, actually…”

Yu could tell Nanako wanted to ask more, but she definitely did not need to hear about the fun events of last year’s culture festival. Neither did Dojima. Speaking of which… “Where’s your dad?”

“Oh! He said he was going to stay late at work, since Yosuke was picking you up.”

“Ah, makes sense,” Yu replied, somewhat disappointed. Although Yosuke and Nanako were definitely the two people he’d most wanted to see, he’d also missed his uncle. “Well, I think it’s time for bed. Did you already brush your teeth?”

“Yes, but… will you read me a story?” she asked, giving him the most adorable puppy dog eyes, as if there were any chance he would have said no anyway.

“Of _course_ I will.” He picked her up, realising as he did that she’d grown _again_. Soon enough she’d be a teenager, and she wouldn’t let him pick her up anymore, and she’d be out there _dating _and—_deep breaths, Yu._ He still had a few years to make sure every potential date in Inaba was fully warned of what would happen if they mistreated Nanako. For now, he would just go read her her bedtime story.

He carried her over to her room, but she stopped him before they could enter.

“Big bro, can Yosuke come too?”

Yu turned back to Yosuke, who was looking at them with his mouth gaping open and his eyes looking the tiniest bit damp.

“You want me to…?” he said quietly, then more loudly, “You got it, Nanako!” as he all but skipped after them.

* * *

Yu and Yosuke sat by Nanako’s bed after she picked one of her favorites for Yu to read, a story about a penguin who hated the cold and escaped from Antarctica to a tropical island in a bathtub. Yu was a bit distracted as he read by Yosuke’s fond expression. He knew it was making him blush, the heat unfamiliar in his cheeks; he’d never known he could even blush at all before Yosuke had confessed to him, and now it felt as though he’d never be able to stop.

The penguin had barely begun to plan his escape that Nanako was already asleep; it had been a late evening for her, after all. Yu stood, pulling Yosuke up, and they tiptoed out of the room and up the stairs to Yu’s bedroom.

“That you got her, and I got Teddie, is an injustice I will never get over.”

Yu laughed. “You say that, but he keeps sending me pictures of the things you buy him at Junes, and the way you rearranged the closet so it’s like a real little bedroom for him, and the popsicles you always make sure to have in the freezer…”

“Hey, shut up!” Yosuke exclaimed, rubbing the back of his neck and hunching his shoulders.

Yu hugged him despite his grumbling. “You’re a good person, Yosuke, no matter how much you try to hide it.”

“Yeah, yeah. You’re one to talk. Anyway, sure, Teddie’s not the worst, but… he’s no Nanako.”

“That’s true,” Yu said with a decisive nod. He moved to sit on his couch, patting the spot beside him. “Are you spending the night?”

“Man, I wish. I begged my parents but they said it was still a school day tomorrow… I’ve got time for a game or two though.”

Yu frowned, and Yosuke added, “Unless you don’t want me to stay?”

“No, that’s not it at all, of course I want you to stay. It’s just, uh…”

“Yeah?”

“I kinda had other plans.”

“Oh? Like what?” Yosuke seemed genuinely curious.

“Like, um, this,” Yu mumbled, cupping Yosuke’s jaw with one hand and pulling him closer to kiss him.

Yosuke, apparently, had no issues with these alternate plans, and melted into the kiss, slowly sliding closer to Yu until he was leaning back against the couch’s armrest, Yosuke kneeling over him. Yu could barely keep up with what was going on, in the best possible way. He’d never kissed anyone before Yosuke; there had been a couple of girls before he moved to Inaba but it had never gone past a bit of hand holding between classes, and although he’d gotten a fair amount of interest over the previous year, he’d only had eyes for one boy. Yosuke, on the other hand, had dated one girl for a few months before he’d moved to Inaba, and, as he’d proudly told Yu a short time after they’d become friends, had gotten pretty far into making out.

Back then, he’d been extremely jealous of it, and even after Yosuke’s confession he’d still been slightly bothered, but now he realised there was a lot to be said for kissing someone with experience. He couldn’t imagine it would have been anywhere near as pleasant if they’d both had no idea what they were doing. Yosuke was a good teacher, too, softly guiding him with a word or a touch, and there was something about _that_ that was undeniably attractive.

Yosuke’s phone ringing in his back pocket right beneath his hand was a jarring distraction Yu could have done without, especially when it turned out to be Mr. Hanamura, calling to tell Yosuke that he’d been expected home at least twenty minutes ago.

“Raincheck?” Yosuke said after one last tender kiss.

“Mmm. Call me as soon as you’re out of class tomorrow, ok. I didn’t even get a chance to show you our costumes for the party tomorrow.”

Yosuke laughed. “Sorry, partner. I guess we got distracted.”

Yosuke left, after another kiss at Yu’s door, and then at the top of the stairs, and finally at the front door, and a blown one as he rode away, and an emoji one on his phone before he finally turned in for the night. Yu felt a little silly, but definitely not silly enough to stop; he’d been dreaming of this for the past two months.

The next morning, he slept in a bit later than usual, woken up by…


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me, writing this chapter: "How much _absolute nonsense_ can I fit in 1000 words? >:D"

...a text from Yukiko. 

Sitting up and looking at the time on his phone, Yu realized his friends (including his _ boyfriend, _ he marveled) were between classes right now. 

‘Welcome back to Inaba!’ the text read, and Yu smiled sleepily.

Then he realized the message had an attachment. As soon as he opened it, he screamed and dropped his phone. 

“What… the hell?” Yu whispered in horror. 

He cautiously reached for his phone to take another look, and it was indeed a picture of Kashiwagi, dressed in one of those ‘sexy bunny’ costumes. She was strutting down the hallway, and Chie was in the foreground making a disgusted face at the camera.

Yu sighed, knowing he should have expected nothing less than a cursed image from Yukiko.

“Now_ that _ is definitely the scariest thing I’ll see this Halloween,” he said, though he supposed it was fitting that Kashiwagi would be the one to outdo herself on scare-factor. 

Yu was on edge now, so when his phone suddenly rang, he almost dropped it again. 

“H-hello?” he answered, his voice coming out in an unflattering croak. 

“Haha, did I wake you up, Partner?” 

“Actually, Yukiko did a minute ago, with an… _ alarming _ picture of Kashiwagi.” 

“Oh yeah, before I left, she was getting called to the principal’s office! Maybe they’ll actually fire her this time!” 

“You left school?” 

“Yep! And you told me to call when I got outta class, so…” Yosuke said, and Yu heard the distinct sound of Yosuke unchaining his bike. 

“But it’s still morning,” Yu said, double-checking the time on his new watch that he hadn’t taken off yet (and probably wouldn’t ever). 

“We had a test first thing this morning, but there’s nothing important going on the rest of the day.”

“You shouldn’t skip school…” Yu said, but it was a weak protest at best.

“Hypocrite!” Yosuke laughed. “Honestly, I couldn’t stand the thought of you being here and me not being with you, y’know? I want more time together before I have to share you with everyone else tonight. That’s probably selfish—” 

“No,” Yu interrupted. “That sounds perfect. Hurry up.” 

“On my way!” Yosuke said excitedly. “Hey… you’re home alone, right?” 

Heart racing at Yosuke’s change in tone, Yu replied, “Yeah, Dojima is at work, and Nanako’s at school.” 

“Okay, cool. See you soon! Love you! Bye!” 

Yosuke hung up, and Yu stared at his screen, dumbfounded. 

_ “Love you?” _he said, feeling like he could cry. 

Yosuke said it so easily, and then he hung up so quickly… 

Deciding to put that aside since Yosuke would be there soon, Yu leapt up to get ready. 

When he was getting dressed, he opted for a light blue shirt that Yosuke had complimented before they’d started dating, saying it made Yu’s eyes look brighter since they reflected the color. Then when he was going through his dental hygiene routine (which was already pretty thorough), he used twice as much toothpaste and brushed his teeth twice as hard. 

He brought their costumes downstairs and laid them out on the table, where he found a handwritten note from his uncle. 

> _ Nephew, _
> 
> _ Sorry I got back too late to welcome you home. Thanks for putting Nanako to bed. I’ll leave work early today to pick her up from school, and we’ll grab food so we can all have dinner together before you go to your Halloween party. _
> 
> _ Welcome home, _
> 
> _ Your Uncle _

Yu laughed at the somewhat formal letter, though coming from Dojima, it was overflowing with warmth. He was looking forward to their family dinner; it would be just like old times.

After that Yu kept checking his watch, walking back and forth, wondering impatiently when Yosuke would get there. He eventually plopped down on the couch, annoying even himself with his pacing, and he closed his eyes to calm himself down. 

Suddenly, the front door handle rattled, and Yu flinched, his eyes flying open. 

Yosuke breezed in a second later, and Yu sighed in relief, not sure why he was so jumpy this Halloween.

Making his way over and watching as Yosuke pocketed a key, Yu asked, “You have a key now?”

“Yeah. I’m here a lot,” Yosuke said with a shrug.

Yu smiled gratefully, knowing Yosuke had been spending as much time with Nanako as possible to make up for his own absence. 

“What took you so long?” Yu asked, reaching for Yosuke’s flushed cheek. 

“I had to take the long way so there’d be less chance of getting caught. It’s hard to go rogue when you’re the Prince of Junes and everyone recognizes you! Also, I had to feed the orange tabby outside. He’s very demanding.” 

Yu said abruptly, “I love you too.”

“Wh-what?” 

“On the phone, you said…”

Yosuke laughed nervously. “I wasn’t even thinking. N-not that I didn’t mean it! But I _ may _ have fallen off my bike after that, which also slowed me down—” 

Yu interrupted him with a long, passionate kiss, savoring that hitch in Yosuke’s breath that was starting to become familiar. 

When Yu pulled away, Yosuke slowly opened his eyes and smiled as if waking from a pleasant dream. 

That, of course, was amazingly attractive, and Yu was about to pull him back in when Yosuke’s gaze darted behind Yu. 

“Are those… our costumes?” 

Yu nodded, leading Yosuke to the living room. It had been his idea to do a couple’s costume, so Yosuke had left it to him to choose.

“I know orange is your color, but I think it might be funnier if I’m the convict,” he said, holding up an orange jumpsuit and a police uniform. “And the cop costume comes with fun accessories.” 

Yosuke looked uneasy as he picked up the bag of ‘accessories’ and rifled through it. 

“A plastic gun… a badge… _ handcuffs?!” _Yosuke exclaimed, throwing the bag like it had burned his hands. 

“So you don’t want to be the cop, then?”   
  
Blushing furiously, Yosuke said, “If you’re _ seriously _ gonna make me choose, I guess I’ll be…”


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> spoilers yosuke loses.  
or... wins?  
it's difficult to say.

Yosuke sputtered for a few more moments, and Yu quirked an eyebrow at the visible struggle raging on his boyfriend’s face.

Finally, Yosuke shyly pointed at the couch and Yu followed his line of sight to the costume lying furthest away from them. “. . . I’ll be the convict.” 

“But _ I _wanted to be the convict,” Yu pouted. 

Yosuke pouted in return. “Come on, partner. You know you could rock a cop costume _ way _better than I could,” he insisted, followed up by pained laugh. “I’d look like a total goof in that!”

Yu’s shoulders dropped. He looked sideways down at the bag of assorted cop accessories in dismay. Time to look . . . professional and mature, like he always did. Great. 

“Awww, _ please _don’t make that face.” 

Yu looked back up at him. “What face?”

Yosuke raised both his hands to gesture at him. “_That _ one.” Then, he let out a loud sigh, his head falling back to face the ceiling. “_Fine_, I’ll be the stupid cop. _ I’ll be the stupid cop_,” he exclaimed, while bending down to swipe up the costume and bag of accessories into his arms. 

“W-where are you going? The party isn’t until tonight,” Yu asked, as Yosuke stomped towards the bathroom. 

“Might as well see if it fits,” Yosuke grumbled over his shoulder--just before the bathroom door slammed shut. 

~~~

Once Yosuke left, Yu guiltily sat down on the sofa and fiddled with the pantsleg of his newly won convict costume in silence. He really hadn’t expected them to “fight” about something so silly; but then, he hadn’t expected Yosuke to have such a profound reaction to a couple of halloween costumes in the first place. He was just coming around to the decision to apologize when he heard the bathroom door fly open.

“Well? How does it look?”

Yu’s apology vanished as soon as he looked up to see the figure of his boyfriend before him. The costume was cheap, nothing like what a real officer would be wearing, but had enough detail and structure that it didn’t look too campy. And maybe it was the rich blue color, or the type of button-down shirt and how he had it tucked into the dark pants, but Yosuke looked . . . _ good _ in it. He looked _ good, _ good in it. 

“Good,” slid right out of Yu’s mouth like butter.

A slight grimace creeped into Yosuke’s cheeks. “That bad, huh?”

The toy metal handcuffs gleamed off the light from the living room window and Yu eyed them interestedly. “Yep.” 

Yosuke groaned and dropped his head--and Yu bolted to his feet, his heart racing with panic.

“I mean, no--you look great in it!” 

Yosuke laughed, as if in disbelief. “Uh-huh.”

“No, _ really_,” Yu insisted, taking a step closer. 

“Okay, partner, if you say so.” Yosuke smiled kindly at him, crossing his arms. “In that case, I’m gonna go take this thing off before I change my mind.” 

Before Yosuke could disappear into the bathroom again, Yu had lunged forward and taken him by the shoulders, turned him around, and pressed their mouths together. 

Yosuke tensed against him at first but soon, Yu felt Yosuke start to kiss him back with more confidence--a little, and then a _ lot_, and then letting out an airy moan that shot straight down Yu’s spine. They kept going until Yu had Yosuke backed up against the doorframe. 

When they separated, gasping for air, Yosuke’s expression looked exactly like Yu’s pulse _ felt, _ wild and alive and a little wanting, and a fresh apology was tumbling out of Yu’s mouth before his brain had fully formed the words. 

“S-sorry, I’m--sorry--”

“--N-no, no, that’s okay,” Yosuke said, out of breath. “That was . . . cool.”

“I just, um . . .” Yu eyed the ridiculous costume over again before realizing that might be a bad idea. “You can go change now,” he informed him, while nodding. 

Yosuke nodded back, several times. “Yeah, alright. B-be right back.”

“Yep.” 

Yu stood and stared at the closed wooden door of the bathroom a little longer than he should have. Ultimately, he decided he was thirsty, and went to grab a bottle of water out of the fridge while internally interrogating himself over his previous actions. The resulting mix of shame, arousal, and a little mirth ended in him slumped on the couch with his cheeks burning and his face buried in his palms. 

Eventually, Yosuke rejoined him, reclothed in his normal school uniform and with the incriminating cop uniform safely folded and tucked under one arm. He had a wide smile on his face as he approached the couch that made Yu’s heart both skip and float. 

“Welp,” Yosuke said, and then threw the costume down on the table and dropped the bag of accessories on top. “I’m happy to report that I feel a _ little _better about this whole thing now.” 

Yu felt the blood rush to his face all over again, and couldn’t help the small pained groan he made next. “Do you, now?” 

“I _ do_.” 

He plopped down next to Yu with a contented sigh, his arms spread along the back of the couch and his right ankle resting atop his left knee. 

He looked much too pleased with himself for Yu not to find it a little cute. He started to think he hadn’t been as creepy and weird as he’d feared. Or, maybe he _ had _and Yosuke just . . . liked it anyway? Either way, Yu felt rather lucky about it. He smiled even though he was still embarrassed, and leaned into him, reaching up with the hope for a small kiss--which Yosuke instantly delivered. 

They kissed a few more times, until the heat in Yu’s cheeks finally dissipated, when Yosuke hummed against Yu’s lips. “Wanna see if your convict costume fits?”

Yu laughed softly, leaning up to resume their kissing. “Right _ now?_ . . . Not especially, no.”

“Hmm . . . afraid I’ll arrest ‘ya?” 

Yu instantly grabbed the nearest throw pillow and tossed it into Yosuke’s face, who let out an offended yelp. Yu stood and knocked his way through Yosuke’s knees as he passed him to head to the bathroom. 

Well, he’d _ tried _to make it there, anyway, but Yosuke snatched his wrist at the last minute and yanked him back so that Yu landed across his lap. Yosuke was laughing and Yu didn’t want to be laughing, too, but he was -- and also squirming, and swearing at him, and knocking his hands away as Yosuke leaned over him to silence him with another kiss. 

His aggravated muttering was quickly reduced to nothing as Yosuke refused to let his mouth go, and Yu ended up winding his arms around Yosuke’s neck to keep him there. 

Something about the way Yosuke was kissing him, or how quiet it was in the rest of the house, reminded Yu that Yosuke had skipped class in order to be here -- which meant, of course, that this didn’t have to end. They could keep doing this until the texts from their friends started pouring in, or Dojima came home with Nanako to have family dinner, and the thought made Yu’s belly grow deliciously hot. Yu could even try and convince Yosuke to put the costume on again . . . 

“Mm, hey, partner?” Yosuke mumbled into his mouth. 

“Yeah,” Yu whispered, tugging on Yosuke’s bottom lip with his teeth and going in again.

“I’m hungry . . .”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> obviously, i had them make out during their alone time together. i would consider myself irresponsible otherwise.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I was very proud of this cliffhanger. Also I can't refrain from angsty backstory even in a fluffy fic. oops? :x

Yu fed his demanding boyfriend, finding a surprisingly well-stocked fridge. It certainly hadn’t looked like that when he’d arrived last year, and he wondered if he had Nanako or Dojima to thank for it. Maybe he could make something nice for dinner later, some homemade soba perhaps.

Although… Yosuke continued to look hungry even after they were done eating, so Yu wasn’t sure he’d get the chance. Well, he was as much to blame for that as Yosuke was, Yu thought with a blush as he finished the dishes.

They wandered back over to the couch after lunch, but when Yosuke leaned in to pick back up where they’d left off, he held him off with a hand on his chest.

“Wait!” he laughed as Yosuke glared at his hand. “You haven’t even told me where the party is tonight, or when we’re supposed to get there.”

Yosuke huffed, but sat back on his heels, to Yu’s relief. The details for the party weren’t all that important, but he really needed a break. Not that he hadn’t enjoyed their morning’s… _activities_, but Yosuke’s stomach had rumbled at a very convenient time. His body’s reaction to finally getting to kiss his boyfriend was natural, and healthy, and so forth, and also completely embarrassing considering there hadn’t even been any roaming hands. He could save _that_ for the next time they met, he figured.

“Well, you know how at night, the Shiroku Store turns into a pub?”

Yu nodded; he knew all too well, having worked there quite a few nights, but he was pretty sure Yosuke didn’t know about that particular part-time job. Especially that one night…

“We convinced Old Lady Shiroku to privatize it for us tonight. No alcohol served, of course! But we’ve got the backyard all set up with picnic tables and spooky decorations from Junes, and the inside is weird enough as it is with that smoking frog. Pretty sweet, right?!”

“Yosuke…” Yu frowned. “How much did that cost you?”

“That’s the best part—when I asked her, she said she owed us. Or you. I dunno, it was kinda confusing. We didn’t even spend that much money there last year, did we? Even with Teddie’s topsicle addiction.”

Yu hoped desperately that his impassive face wouldn’t let him down now. He remembered all too well how he’d looked in that wig—no long pigtails this time, just a swingy black bob, a dress that concealed only enough to hide his true gender and age, contacts to cover his distinctive grey eyes, and makeup much more skillfully applied than Yukiko or Chie had ever managed.

He remembered Old Lady Shiroku’s heavy eyes on his as she bemoaned the lack of clients that evening. “People are afraid to stay out too late these days, after all those murderers. If only I could tempt them in with something special. An exotic beauty, maybe. Just for one night, to give this place a new air of mystery. It’s been so long since they stopped coming for me…”

And Yu, weak, supportive Yu, had offered, of course. It hadn’t been like the culture festival, where everyone was looking only to laugh. Those men’s eyes had something else in them, something that felt foul on his skin and didn’t come off as easily as the false lashes and stockings did. He’d felt a little guilty about the way he’d looked at the girls in their swimsuits after that. Had been a little harsher when Teddie overstepped his bounds.

It had only happened once; Old Lady Shiroku hadn’t asked again, and he wasn’t sure he would have accepted if she had. It hadn’t been _that_ bad, anyway; worth it if it meant a perfect Halloween party for all his friends. And he had to admit, the wig he still had somewhere in his closet back in Tokyo hadn’t looked half bad on him. Maybe someday, he could show…

Well. He was getting ahead of himself.

“Earth to Yu!”

Yu blinked at Yosuke, who was waving a hand in his face.

“Is there something wrong with the pub? I don’t think we can get everything switched this late,” Yosuke was saying worriedly.

“No, no. Just feeling kinda sleepy after all that food. The pub sounds great, I’m looking forward to it! Do we need to go set things up?”

“Nah, we did that earlier in the week. She said the ambience would entertain her regulars.” Yosuke shrugged. “Anyway, do you know how much trouble I’d get in if Rise’s grandma or Kanji’s mom saw me? Let’s just stay here where it’s safe.”

“What if my uncle comes home from work? Sometimes he forgets case files at home…”

“He does?!” Yosuke looked like he’d seen a ghost.

“Yeah, often,” Yu replied with a barely concealed laugh.

Yosuke squinted at him. “You’re lying.”

“Well, he does sometimes!” 

Yu tried to keep a straight face, but Yosuke’s skeptical glare did him in and he burst out laughing. “Ok, fine, once. He did it once. But you never know! Shoulda seen your face…”

Yosuke smacked at his arm, too lightly to hurt. “You’re the worst boyfriend.”

Yu froze.

“Yu? Hey, I’m kidding, partner. You’re a great boyfriend.”

He unfroze, now feeling on the contrary much too warm. “It’s, um, I think it’s the first time you called me your boyfriend. Out loud.” Yu gave a self-conscious chuckle. “Sorry, that’s kind of a silly thing to get hung up on.”

Yosuke’s eyes went a bit wide. “Oh. Yeah. You’re my boyfriend. Partner. My boyfriend partner. My partner, that I’m dating, who is my boyf—”

Seeing Yosuke getting tongue-tied over this was hilarious, but Yu could be gracious when he chose to be, so he stood, cutting Yosuke off. “Would my _boyfriend_ like to come play some video games with me?”

Yosuke blushed aggressively but took the offered hand. “Yeah, that… that sounds like a good idea.”

* * *

At some point during the afternoon, Yu convinced Yosuke to come help him make dinner. By the time Nanako came home, they had soba waiting in the fridge and veggies roasting in the oven.

“Big bro! That smells so good,” she exclaimed as she ran over to hug his legs.

Yu put down the dish he’d been washing and kneeled to hug her back. He was about to ask her how school had gone when another step of footsteps followed her in.

“Hello, uncle. You’re home early.”

“Welcome home, Yu,” Dojima said with a voice that was just a little less stern than his usual—or was that just Yu’s imagination? “I didn’t want to miss dinner, since you have that party afterwards.”

Yu stood, picking Nanako up on one hip. “It’s good to be home.”

Dojima turned suspicious eyes on Yosuke. “Hanamura. Shouldn’t you still be at school?”

“Oh! Uh, they let us out early! For Halloween, you know?”

Yosuke could not have been more obviously lying if he’d tried. How was Dojima his one weak point? Yu wanted to laugh, but he didn’t want Yosuke to get in trouble, either.

“Well, since everyone’s home, why don’t we have dinner? I just need to boil the soba and it’ll be ready! Yosuke, can you set the table while my uncle and Nanako get cleaned up?”

Dojima squinted after Yosuke for another moment, but either he’d decided to buy his excuse, or—more likely—he’d decided it wasn’t important enough to ruin Yu’s short weekend trip, and he headed upstairs to change.

* * *

Dinner went well, Dojima catching him up on the happenings at the precinct; it was much more dull than last year’s events, which was exactly how Yu liked it. They soon finished eating, and after a quick clean-up, headed to Yu’s room to get ready for the party. Yosuke went to change in the bathroom while Yu stayed in his room, but there was a _small_ problem. When Yosuke returned, Yu had managed to get the jumpsuit up past his thighs and over his shoulders, but…

“Yosuke?”

“What is—” Yosuke cut off, blushing as he stared at Yu’s bare chest.

“I can’t zip this shut.”


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is not what "costume drama" is supposed to mean.

Yosuke’s eyes blinked with the steadiness of a metronome. Then, in a deadpan tone reserved only for the most baffling of situations, he finally found the words to ask, “Um, what do you mean?”

“I mean exactly what I said,” Yu replied dryly. He even gave a few more futile tugs on the zipper to accentuate his point before letting it fall limp against his skin. “See? It won’t zip. Too tight.”

A very small part of Yosuke’s brain was actually surprised by the revelation. After all, with all the battles they’d endured alongside their Personas from the previous years, every member of the Investigation Team had bulked up substantially. Even Yukiko, who had previously been so paranoid about gaining weight that she’d refused to eat steak dinners with Chie, now sported swells of toned muscle that put the creepy students who’d once harassed her in their rightful places.

It made sense that Yu had also put on a few extra pounds of muscle. After all, he was the only one in their entire posse who had literally led the team through each and every battle. Whether it was a weakling Shadow or a towering Goddess, Yu had always stood fearlessly at the forefront of their formation. 

Now, months later, he still had the body to show for his efforts. 

Through the slice of parted fabric, Yosuke could see clearly make out the slopes and planes of Yu’s muscles shifting beneath the paper-thin costume cloth. When Yu rolled his shoulders and Yosuke saw his finely corded sinews of muscle stretch, his heart and soul practically ascended. It was certainly a gift for his eyes...not to mention other parts of his anatomy.

“Okay…very funny, partner,” Yosuke chuckled. He crossed his arms and tapped his foot to distract his brain from the sudden surge of blood he felt warming his body. “Don’t get me wrong, it’s a nice view, but we really don’t have time to appreciate—”

“Yosuke, I’m serious.”

“Huh?” Yosuke sputtered. “Wait, really?”

Yu leveled his gaze at Yosuke sternly. It was a classic technique he used to alert his friends and family where his straightforward humor ended and his serious nature began. His expression was unreadable neutral. Something about the coolness in his stare always made Yosuke even more flustered. Part of him wondered if Yu secretly knew.

Under the scrutiny of his partner’s stormcloud eyes, Yosuke swallowed a sudden lump that had formed in his throat. “Um, okay. Here. Let me try.”

“Sure thing.”

Against his better judgment, he reached out to grab the zipper. Each millimeter of movement was perfectly calculated so he didn’t end up brushing Yu’s bare chest with his fingertips. Not that he didn’t want to, but...that was a whole other can of worms that they _ absolutely _ didn’t have time to open. Besides, it wasn’t something Yosuke wanted to rush anyway.

With a few gentle tugs as to not tear the delicate material, he came to the same unfortunate conclusion that his partner had moments before.

“It...really won’t zip, huh?” Yosuke mumbled. 

Yu’s silver hair swished as he shook his head. “Nope.”

The word fell from his lips with all the severity of a brick hitting concrete.

It seemed their evening of playful trickery and deceit had already hit a rather mundane snag. Great, Yosuke bemoaned internally.

“Shit, what do we do?” Yosuke griped. “Hm. Should we try switching and see if this one fits you a little better?”

It took Yu less than a second to deny the notion. “I don’t think that’ll work. The costumes are similar sizes, right?”

Yosuke confirmed Yu’s statement with a nod. “Well, yeah. Since we didn’t know who was going to take which one.”

Yu pulled his lips into a half-smile. “Exactly. Well, since yours fits, I highly doubt it’ll make a difference.”

That was a good point. 

“Hm...maybe we can..._ fashion _ something?” Yosuke posed while abstractly spinning his hands above his head, as if to personify the neurons and dendrites clicking away inside his brain. Then, an epiphany made his amber eyes glow like dawn. “Oh, duh! We’ll use a white T-shirt!”

“A white T-shirt?” Yu parroted.

“Convicts wear those under their jumpsuits, right? I mean, they do in the movies, anyways…” Yosuke rambled. “Anyway, that’s not important! You have one, right? We can just use that. Boom! _ Problemo solv-o’ed _!”

As Yosuke turned toward Yu’s bedroom and gave it a preliminary scan for said article of clothing, he heard a shuffling noise coming from his boyfriend’s vicinity. 

When he turned back to glimpse the source of the disquieting noise, he saw that Yu was slowly shimmying his body out of the tight sheath of fabric. In fact, he only stopped undressing when he completely nude from the waist up.

“Um, Yu?” Yoske asked. “What are you…?”

“I’ll just go like this.”

“What!” Yosuke squawked. “Are you serious? Wait, you know what? No. I know you’re serious. That’s why I’m forbidding it now. No way.”

“Why not?” Yu asked casually, as if his boyfriend’s entire spiel had soared completely over his head. All the while, he rolled down the fabric far enough to slip his arms out of the material and cinch the sleeves in a loose knot about his waist. The gesture pulled the fabric treacherously far down Yu’s distractingly taut abdomen. 

“Dude, _ stop _!” Youke squeaked. His cheeks were practically berry-stained. “No way you’re leaving the house like that!”

Another look of cool indifference flashed at him like lightning. “Why not?”

_ “Why not?!” _

Yosuke knew his throat was going to be raw in the coming days, and sadly, not for the reason he would have anticipated following Yu’s homecoming.

“Alright...in spite of my hunch that you’re being a total ass and you’re actually perfectly aware of why you can’t leave this house _ half-naked _ , I’ll spell it out for you anyway,” Yosuke groaned. Then he cleared his throat and assumed a gentle tone, almost like a teacher speaking to a student. “Yu Narukami. My wonderful boyfriend and cat-loving social anomaly. You cannot leave this house on an _ autumn night _ to go to a _ Halloween party _ where there are _ tons of people _ without a _ shirt on your body _.”

With each emphasized word, Yosuke had drifted closer and closer to his partner until they were eventually close enough for him to grip Yu’s shoulders. He even gave the slightly taller man a light shake, just for good measure. Like spamming the ‘A’ button in a video game during a cutscene one had no control over, maybe the extra oomph would help accentuate the point. “Okay?”

Yu looked down his nose at Yosuke and barely managed to suppress a smile. Hell, if his boyfriend was going to make such a dramatic show out of his antics, Yu was absolutely going to be difficult in return. The prospect was too fun to resist.

“I mean...it’s not like I can’t do it,” Yu counter-offered. “It’s not illegal. You just don’t want me to.”

“Okay, fine!” Yosuke relented. His hands flew from Yu’s shoulders and up into the air. “Guilty as charged! Ugh. That too.”

* * *

The two were finally en route to the party after another ten minutes of back-and-forth. While trying to persuade Yu Narukami into doing anything was sometimes as productive as trying to bride a brick wall, the two eventually compromised.

Yu still wore the ill-fitting costume, only it was partially zipped up as far as it could go. While Yu’s chest was still completely exposed, at least his arms and back were covered. That alone gave Yosuke some semblance of inner peace.

“Just don’t come cryin’ to me if you get cold,” Yosuke teased while they walked.

Although Yosuke’s voice would have sounded strained to the untrained listener, Yu could tell there was no bite behind the words. 

After all, if his boyfriend was actually irritated with him, Yu ventured that the two probably wouldn't be strolling down the vacant street holding hands and keeping a shoulder-to-shoulder pace. Just a guess. 

As the two made their way down to the pub, the telltale signs of the party began to rise over the horizon in the form of smoky tendrils. 

Yosuke pointed excitedly at the pillow stacks and tossed Yu a grin. “See? Fog machines. Pretty sweet, huh?”

A throaty laugh escaped Yu’s lips. “Either it’s the fog machines, or Yukiko has somehow burned someone to a crisp.”

The statement earned a skeptical gaze. “With her Persona?”

“Don’t be silly,” Yu replied flatly. “No. With a match.”

For some reason, Yosuke had to laugh. Enough time had passed since their rendezvous inside the T.V. World that references to their supernatural powers or in regular conversation no longer caused his anxiety to flare or his brain to crash. The passage of time had dulled the pain of their former encounters into something he could laugh about. Well, _ mostly _ laugh about. 

The pub was right around the corner.

“Well,” Yosuke started, “I guess there’s only one way to find out…” 


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me, writing this chapter: "Now that we've ditched the word count cap, how much _absolute nonsense_ can I write in before everyone else makes me stop? >:D"

“I don’t smell smoke,” Yosuke said, sniffing the air as they approached the store. “Must be safe!” 

He dropped Yu’s hand so he could grab the door for him, but before Yu could really think about it, his hand shot out to grip Yosuke’s forearm.

“Partner? What’s wrong?” Yosuke asked, halting to look back at Yu. 

“Well, it’s just…” Yu said, steadily becoming more and more embarrassed as his brain caught up to his actions. “The party’s probably gonna last a while, right? So, um, before we go in…”

Yosuke caught on quickly, flashing Yu a bright smile before stepping closer to him and bumping the sides of their noses. 

Yu closed his eyes and started to lean in, but then Yosuke said, “I don’t know if we should do this, Narukami.” 

Yu’s eyelids fluttered open, only to see Yosuke grinning at him. 

“Why?” 

“I mean, I’m a cop, and you’re my prisoner. Seems like a conflict of interest.” 

Yu swallowed hard, and then he breathed, “Your… prisoner…?” 

“W-wait, that sounds  _ way _ dirtier than I meant—”

Yu silenced Yosuke’s sputtering with his own mouth, only vaguely surprised in the back of his muddied mind at how greedily he was kissing Yosuke in the middle of the shopping district.

“Dude,” Yosuke chuckled, wrenching himself away from Yu. “We should get moving, or we’re never gonna get to this party.” 

“Right. I keep forgetting I was really looking forward to this. It’s all your fault,” Yu said, giving Yosuke one last quick kiss. 

“Sorry I’m so irresistible,” Yosuke said unapologetically, moving to swing the door open and ushering Yu inside as fog poured out around their ankles. 

The mood was immediately stifled when they realized the store was completely dark except for the light from a creepily-carved jack-o-lantern near the back door.

“What the hell…” Yosuke whispered.

Yu looked down at his beloved watch (that Yosuke had told him to take off because convicts don’t wear watches, but Yu adamantly refused), but he couldn’t quite make it out in the darkness. 

“Are we early?” Yu asked as the door clicked shut behind them, sounding exaggeratedly loud against the surrounding silence.

“Nah, we’re actually a little late.” 

“Then where is everyone?”

Yosuke said to himself, “This wasn’t what we planned…” 

“Yosuke?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you feel like we’re being watched?”

“WELCOME TO HELL!” a deep, sinister voice suddenly screamed out of nowhere, making Yu yelp uncharacteristically, but before he could further react, he saw the long blade of a scythe coming straight toward himself and Yosuke. 

“Partner!” Yosuke yelled, grabbing a fistful of the back of Yu’s jumpsuit, but Yu was already instinctively jumping in front of him.

The blade struck Yu right in the middle of his bare chest with a dull thud, and it took him several seconds to realize that he was not only not dead, but completely unharmed. He frowned and reached up to touch the blade, which felt suspiciously similar to his favorite brand of foam core he used to purchase from the craft section in Junes. 

“Partner! Are you okay?” Yosuke asked frantically, tugging at his jumpsuit. 

Yu looked up at the hooded figure wielding the scythe, and the edges of the black fabric started to shake before a demonic laugh erupted from the hood that could only belong to… 

“Yukiko?!” Yosuke yelled accusingly, and then the lights flipped on, momentarily blinding them. 

Yukiko, dressed in a Grim Reaper costume, pulled down her hood to reveal her tear-stained face, and through her laughter, she said, “Yu-kun! You’re  _ dead! _ Because you let me _ kill _ you! Pfft…” she choked out, waving around the floppy blade of her homemade scythe. 

Then Yu and Yosuke jumped as a voice behind them exclaimed, “That’s the best reaction we’ve gotten so far!” 

Yosuke immediately rounded on Chie, holding his plastic gun up to the camcorder she had apparently been recording them with. 

“Don’t make me arrest you!” Yosuke threatened, though his voice cracked when he said it.

“Aww, did the widdle ol’ Grim Reaper scare you,  _ Officer Hanamura?” _ Chie mocked, lowering her camcorder. “Why the hell are you wearing that anyways? You’re an insult to my future profession!”

“And why the hell are  _ you _ dressed as a cow?!” 

“I like cows! I owe a lot to them.”

_ “Maybe _ you’d look cute in that if you weren’t such a carnivore, but this is just morbid!” 

Yu offered, “I think it’s cute.”

“Thank you, Yu-kun,” Chie said, putting her hands (hooves?) on her hips. “And hey, don’t you think  _ your _ costume is a little ironic, Yosuke? I seem to remember you getting stuffed into the back of a police car last year.”

“That was all just a misunderstanding!” Yosuke insisted.

As they set to arguing, Yu turned to Yukiko, whose laughter had finally died down.

Yukiko stated good-naturedly, “Your costume is ironic because you’re such a goody-goody.”

“And yours is not ironic at all,” Yu replied, beaming at her before they pulled each other into a hug. 

“Welcome back,” she said in a soft, raspy voice, probably due to screaming at all the party guests that had arrived before them. 

“Welcome to hell,” Yu chuckled, pulling back. “That was a good one.”

“Wasn’t it though?” Yukiko said proudly. “I think I’ve found my true calling in life.”

“Good for you,” Yu said, as warmly and genuinely as if she’d said something completely normal. “Thanks to you, now I’m going to have nightmares about Kashiwagi  _ and _ getting sent to hell,” he joked, though he was grateful that Yukiko was dressed more like a typical Grim Reaper rather than the Reaper from the TV World; otherwise he  _ really _ would have been traumatized. 

“Haha, you’re welcome! Happy Halloween!” Yukiko giggled. 

“Hey, let me get in on some of that action!” Chie exclaimed, abandoning her argument with Yosuke to bound over to Yu for an aggressive hug. 

Yu caught her in his arms, smiling contently and plopping his chin on top of her head, right between the horns. 

“Hey!” Yosuke protested, pulling her away from Yu. “You’re not getting any _ action _ from  _ my  _ boyf—”

Yosuke seemed to catch himself, his face reddening as the other three gave him questioning stares. 

“N-never mind,” Yosuke said shyly, letting go of Chie. 

Then all three of them burst out laughing, and Yosuke went into a fit. 

“Shut up! It’s not funny! You’re all the worst!”

Yu moved in to give him a comforting hug, which only flustered Yosuke further. 

“I’m fine! Get off of me!” 

Yu didn’t comply, of course, only hugging Yosuke tighter, to which Yosuke responded by burying his red face in Yu’s shoulder. 

Yosuke grumbled privately to Yu, “I can’t believe you, by the way, jumping in front of the Grim Reaper’s scythe instead of just letting me pull you out of the way.” 

“I’m sorry. It was a reflex.”

Yosuke lifted his head to glare at Yu and said, “Well, get new reflexes!” 

Chie commented to Yukiko, “Y’know, Yosuke is actually really cute with Yu, isn’t he?” 

“Adorable,” Yukiko agreed. 

“Oh,  _ now _ you two think I’m cute? Where the hell was this a year and a half ago?! My life, I swear…” 

“You’re making me jealous,” Yu said bluntly, and Yosuke’s eyes went wide. 

“Well, you’re making me jealous too,” he countered quietly. “You’ve always made me jealous.”

“All right, lovebirds, cut it out,” Chie interrupted. “Everyone’s waiting out back for us.”

Taking Yosuke’s hand as Chie and Yukiko led them to the back door, Yu said, “You know we’re gonna have to unpack that later, right?”

“Okay, yeah, fine,” Yosuke sighed, but then he squeezed Yu’s hand and gave him a heated look that Yu decidedly stored in his memory bank to fantasize about later. 

Pushing the door open, Chie said, “Man, if you think  _ our _ costumes are something, wait ‘til you see what everyone else is wearing.”

“Yeah, some of their costumes are a real hoot,” Yukiko said, stepping outside behind Chie. 

Yu was in for one more Halloween scare as he stepped outside into the cold night air and a loud chorus of voices yelled, “SURPRISE!” 

Yu started and gripped Yosuke’s hand harder, but when he looked over, Yosuke was smiling, not looking surprised at all. 

“Surprise?” Yu asked, looking at all the happy, familiar faces gathered around him. 

Crammed into the backyard of the Shiroku Store was nearly every school-age friend he’d made in Inaba, from the entire Investigation Team to former 2-2 classmates to soccer teammates and bandmates… 

“Happy birthday!” they simultaneously cheered, and Teddie pulled a rope that released a banner above their heads that read ‘Happy birthday, Narukami!’ in brightly painted letters. 

“I thought this was a Halloween party,” Yu said, dumbfounded as he looked around at the costumes and decorations that still suggested it was one. 

“It  _ is, _ Senpai!” Rise called from the front of the group, dressed in a stylized Little Red Riding Hood costume, her hair curled and pulled into two low pigtails. 

“But it’s a birthday party too! Hell yeah!” Kanji exclaimed from beside her, looking especially unique while wearing a Big Bad Granny Wolf costume (which included a furry wolf mask and an old-fashioned floral nightgown) and doing his customary forearm jerk that didn’t really fit the context but conveyed his excitement all the same. 

Yu looked back to Yosuke, whose smiling eyes roamed over Yu’s face before he quietly said, “Surprise.”

“You planned this?” Yu asked, looking down to his watch again, remembering when Yosuke had presented it to him as an early birthday present. 

“I just didn’t want your birthday to go uncelebrated, since it’s so soon, and you’ll be back in the city…” Yosuke said somewhat dismissively, like it was no big deal. “And everyone else wanted to celebrate with you too.”

The full reality of the situation finally hit Yu like a brick to the face (or a scythe to the chest), and he wouldn’t have been able to stop his reaction even if he’d tried… 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WELCOME TO HELL 😘


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

“I love you,” he whispered.

Or, _thought _he’d whispered. But he’d actually blurted it out loud enough for practically the entire crowd to catch. He didn’t realize it, of course, until a wave of “awwww”’s yanked him out of his fixation on Yosuke’s slightly stunned (and quickly reddening) face. 

One glance at the gently smiling faces of his friends and former classmates had Yu quickly turning and burying his own face behind Yosuke’s shoulder. Yu could feel his cheeks heating up like a stovetop as Yosuke let out a nervous laugh and raised his free arm to rub the back of his neck. 

“Good job, everyone! I think we can say we got him.” 

Yu heard a swell of laughter followed by a burst of clapping, with the sounds of Kou and Daisuke cheerfully “wooting” rising above it all to make Yu blush even harder. He laughed too, quietly, and swore under his breath, tugging at Yosuke’s hand as if Yosuke possessed the remote control for the staring and gawking of the crowd. 

“Dude, just kiss him already!” 

Yu snapped his head in the direction of Kou’s voice, and everyone either laughed or cheered or gave an enthusiastic mix of both. 

“C’mon, Ichijo!” Yosuke whined in reply. He squeezed Yu’s hand reassuringly, and however brief it was, it helped. 

Not quite enough, though. So, Yu did the only thing he could think to do when he was unequipped to face a formidable confrontation -- he made a hasty retreat.

Within seconds, he was safely tucked within the darkness of the Shiroku’s Store interior, alone with the grinning jack-o-lantern and the heavy smell of incense. The cheers and clapping from outside couldn’t be heard any longer, but they echoed in Yu’s memory as he stood there trying to reconcile why his heart was going mad and his pulse was racing and why the thought of leaning in to kiss Yosuke on the mouth in front of his entire second year class made his skin hum like a live current. 

He could have done it . . . it was too bad he’d been taken so off guard. Yu was just standing there, trying to picture the shocked look on Yosuke’s face that he’d see as he pulled his mouth away, when he heard the door open behind him and then, the sound of his partner’s voice. 

“Hey, you okay?” 

Yosuke only had time to place his arm around Yu’s shoulders in a tentative hug before Yu turned around and pressed their mouths together. Yosuke gasped and stepped back, of course, because Yu was sure Yosuke had expected him to be upset. But Yu was not upset, far from it, and so he persisted, and unfolded Yosuke’s mouth with his lips in the dark, with swaths of fake fog dusting their ankles.

“Yu?” Yosuke slurred, as soon as he was able to get his mouth free enough. 

Yu gave an imperceptible shrug and just as tiny a smile. “Kou said to kiss you,” he said demurely, and leaned in again. 

He saw Yosuke smirk just before their lips touched. And this time, he easily let Yu take his mouth, his hand coming up to cup Yu’s cheek as their mouths opened and explored, slowly, with wet lips. 

Yosuke’s cheap costume was so thin that Yosuke’s body heat permeated right through and into Yu’s hands as he held two fistfuls of the material in an iron grip. The chinky metal handcuffs clinked softly as Yu’s knee rose up Yosuke’s leg to his waist, and Yosuke let out a wanton little sigh into his mouth that was so close to a groan that Yu didn’t bother hiding one of his own. 

The air was knocked out of his lungs when Chie suddenly came bounding through the back door, startling both boys to death and leaving them gripping each other _and _their own chests. 

“Oh, s-sorry, heh,” Chie smiled awkwardly at them. Her giant cow head looked on unapologetically. “Uh, Kou says he’s sorry,” she said, her voice dropping guiltily. “Can you guys come back out now? We all feel really bad about what just happened.” 

Yu blinked at her. “Huh?” 

Chie tilted her head in his direction, her eyes going wide and confused. “A-about you kissing Yosuke? In . . . front of everyone.” 

Yu blinked again. Oh, that’s right, everyone thought he was upset. He realized suddenly that an apology might be in order . . . He nodded at her. “Thanks, Chie. We’ll be out in just a minute.” 

“Yay,” she cheered, albeit weakly, her hand rising into just as pitiful a victory pump. The sounds of the crowd could be heard behind her as a lull formed among the three of them for a second. “Okay, well! I . . . guess I’ll let you guys, um . . . uh . . . well, I-I’ll just go now.” She laughed, just as awkwardly as could be expected, and Yu tried to keep the expression on his face completely neutral as Chie made her way out (slowly, trying not to trip over her own costume), and gently closed the door behind her. 

Once the dark had settled back around them, Yu glanced into Yosuke’s eyes, which looked back into his, imploringly. 

“Ready to go back out there?” Yosuke asked. His voice was gentle and encouraging.

Yu looked down at the position of their bodies -- slotted together with their costumes crumpled and Yu’s thigh still hooked dangerously around Yosuke's hip. 

He hummed . . .

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> at this point i was just shocked we were still writing.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Famous last words.

Less than a second later, Yu’s silver eyes flashed down to Yosuke’s. 

“They can wait.”

The sentiment was followed by the crashing of Yu’s lips down onto Yosuke’s. One of his arms wrapped about Yosuke’s waist to lift him higher against the closest wall. The stucco wall scratched unpleasantly against the cheap material of his costume. Yosuke yelped, but had a hard time disagreeing with the pleasant sensation of Yu’s mouth slotting so perfectly against his own. He moaned loudly into the kiss and arched his back, also causing him to inadvertently rolling his hips against his partner’s. The whole evening had been so tense that Yosuke was hardly surprised when he felt a distinct outline of pressure against his thigh. 

A hard time, indeed.

“Yu…” he groaned, barely swallowing a breath before his mouth ascended to meet Yu’s in another feverous bout of kisses. The distraction caused Yu to finally release Yosuke so he could slide back down the wall, but kept his partner pinned firmly with his forearms.

“H-Hey!” Yosuke argued weakly. “I’m the officer here. I think I’m supposed to be calling the shots.” 

Yu rolled their hips together. “Then start calling some.”

With one sway, their passion crested. Words of reason evaporated into the thick cloud of incense smoke that hung over their heads. The orange haze cast a glow over bodies, bright as peach skin, as they locked eyes and shared one, two, three, tens, dozens of kisses. 

One of Yu’s hands reached up to peel an expanse of uniform from Yosuke’s shoulder. The gesture earned a shiver. 

“It’s cold,” he gasped.

“Sorry,” Yu gasped guiltily. He rolled his bottom lip between his teeth and bit. “I, um…”

Now he truly looked the part of a guilty felon. Caught red-handed. Or red-in-the-face, to be more accurate.

He looked so flustered that Yosuke couldn’t contain the sudden rush of laughter he felt. It was a blended sound of equal parts embarrassment and adoration. 

Slowly, he moved one of his hands to cup Yu’s cheek. It was hot to the touch. Yu leaned into the pads of his fingers until his face filled the crescent cradle of Yosuke’s palm. His fingers, chapped and crooked from being broken in battle so many times, raked through Yu’s flaxen bangs with almost vulgar ease. He wanted to push back every last strand and glimpse his partner’s expression in full. At least, as much as he could in the darkness of their hiding spot.

“Come closer, then,” he husked. A smirk played between his blushing cheeks. “I’ll forgive you if you warm me up.”

If Yosuke Hanamura would have known as a scrawny, girl-crazy high school freshman that he’d be asking muttering such an embarrassing line to his best friend while being pinned to a wall in a Halloween costume, he could have probably gone into a catatonic state of denial. He never would have believed it in a million years. A billion years, even!

Then, a transfer student with silver eyes and a matching tongue strolled into his life and proceeded to warp his entire world after one rendezvous in the Junes technology department. The Frog Prince of Junes had been transformed into a Persona user. A warrior on the front lines for a free-thinking future for humanity.

Yu Narukami really was dangerously powerful. 

Yu, who was currently rosy-cheeked and panting in his arms, literally did _ that. _

Now, it was borderline intoxicating being at the helm of such an unbridled force.

Anxious fingers tugged at Yu’s shirt. The cloth was so cheap that his nails could have torn the material under the right circumstances. Thankfully, both of them were still far off from that level of desperation. Neither knew how long the precarious stasis would last.

They continued their flurry of kisses and fleeting touches. All the while, their hips bucked and moved together. They were like two pistons moving forward with nearly calculated movements.

Yosuke peppered the plane of Yu’s revealed chest with soft kisses. He couldn’t be too rough; after all, there would be no way to hide the marks if they couldn’t zip the uniform back up. Each flick of his tongue or grazing from his slightly pointed canines lured a mewl from Yu. Seeing their team’s leader come undone in his arms from loving caresses was an incredible turn-on for Yosuke. He longed to pull his head back just a few more inches to memorize the blissful expression on his partner’s face, but couldn’t bear to pull away.

Yosuke’s hands settled into the dips at Yu’s pelvis, where a dusty trail of hair became at his navel before vanishing at his below the waistband. 

“Yosuke…” Yu groaned, muscles tensing with each touch. The plates of muscle were dancing beneath Yosuke’s fine touches, which were as quick and maddeningly fleeting as his reflexes in battle.

“Hm?”

“Can we … really do this here?” Yu asked.

“Can we?” Yosuke parroted. The hum of his voice sent a pleasant shiver up Yu’s abdomen and caused heat to coil between his legs. “Or, _ should _ we?”


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to our final chapter! I’d like to thank my roommate for helping me brainstorm what on earth to do with this, and I’d like to thank our neighbors who may have heard us yelling at each other about it (“You should do THIS obscene thing!” “NO!”) as we walked our dog around the apartment complex. XD

“We shouldn’t…” Yu drawled, but before Yosuke’s hands could drift too far from their current (tantalizing) position on his body, he continued, “…go back out there in this condition.” 

“Condition?” Yosuke said hazily, slowly dragging his tongue up Yu’s sternum before lifting his head to look him in the eyes. “What condition?” 

_ “This _ condition,” Yu said, rudely pushing his hips forward again to remind Yosuke of both of their _ conditions. _

“Oh…” Yosuke moaned lightly as an explosion of light like a firework went off in his eyes, and then he said with sudden clarity, “You’re right! We… we can’t go out there like this! These costumes are so thin, and everyone would be able to see, and that would just be…”

“…indecent,” Yu finished for him. 

Part of him (that he was ignoring more and more by the moment) was extremely amused that they were convincing themselves that continuing on their current trajectory was the _ decent _ thing to do, but the more needy parts of him were running the show here. 

“Exactly. Wouldn’t want that,” Yosuke agreed, bringing his lips back down to Yu’s heated chest. “We’ll just… take care of our _ conditions _ first. Yeah, that’s what we’ll do…”

Now that he had a definite go-ahead from (an amazingly enthusiastic) Yosuke, Yu felt every ounce of self-control that usually dominated his every action slipping away. 

In a low, provocative voice, he asked, “Is that an order, Officer?” 

“Mm, yes,” Yosuke hummed from deep in his throat, as his hands came back to life and resumed drifting down, down, down… 

* * *

As the leader of the Investigation Team, who had seen and battled the consequences of falsehood on the largest scale imaginable, and as a decent guy overall, Yu purported himself to be a man of truth.

So when he and Yosuke finally reemerged from the pub, cleaned up and put together to the best of their abilities, he faced his friends without fear. 

Holding Yosuke’s hand and looking out over the sea of faces, he said: “Sorry about that, everyone. I just got really emotional seeing that all of you put this surprise together for me, and I didn’t want you to see me cry, because I thought you might think less of me. But after a long talk with Yosuke, I realized that you’re all here because you’re my friends, and you’re here to celebrate with me, not to judge me—for getting emotional, or for my feelings for Yosuke, or for anything like that. So please forgive me for worrying you,” Yu said, bowing deeply and not for one second missing the exasperated (but perhaps also impressed?) ‘you’re so full of shit’ look on Chie’s face. “Thank you so much for being here for me, all of you. Also—”

“Hold on!” Daisuke interrupted before roughly pushing Kou forward. 

“I’m sorry, man,” Kou apologized, scratching his neck nervously. “I shouldn’t have put you guys on the spot like that. I wasn’t thinking.” 

“You never think,” Daisuke grumbled, whacking Kou in the back of the head. 

“No, it’s okay. What I said earlier… I _ do _ love Yosuke. And I’m not ashamed of it,” Yu declared, gripping Yosuke’s hand more tightly and turning to face him. 

Looking concerned, Yosuke whispered, “You sure about this, Partner?” 

Yu nodded, looking fondly at their linked hands and then back up into Yosuke’s eyes. 

“I’m sure about this.” 

With the most innocent expression he could manage in light of their recent activities, Yu leaned in and gave a wide-eyed, blushing Yosuke a sweet little, faux-inexperienced, peck on the lips, eliciting the most enthusiastic cheers they’d gotten from the crowd so far. 

Yosuke smirked privately at Yu before turning to give everyone a wide, embarrassed smile, and after that, the rest of the party proceeded without a hitch. Yu’s performance seemed to have worked, and if anyone had any lingering suspicions, they kept them to themselves. 

Yu did end up getting misty-eyed when he was presented with an array of heartfelt gifts (a limited edition soccer ball signed by his former teammates, elegant stationery from Naoto so they could exchange letters, a perfectly hug-sized Teddie plush from Kanji…), which further made his earlier story check out. 

That earlier speech hadn’t been _ completely _ untrue anyways, and while it did leave out some details, he figured it was in everyone’s best interest to be spared from the whole truth. 

Yu spent the rest of the party making his way around to everyone to catch up with them and thank them individually for coming. Chie bounced around recording random clips of everyone with her camcorder, and Grim Reaper Yukiko creeped behind as many people as she could, eliciting the occasional scream when her presence was noticed. Yosuke also worked the crowd, chatting animatedly and thanking everyone for making the surprise a success. 

It was good for the two of them to have some physical distance between them for a while, but Yu couldn’t help his gaze from drifting to Yosuke relatively often as he smiled and laughed and wielded that irresistible charm that Inaba, or at least this tiny, precious sect of it, had finally learned to appreciate.   
  
Whenever Yosuke’s gaze met Yu’s from across the party, it felt special and weighted and _ electric, _ and over the course of the evening, it created a new longing within Yu. It made him anticipate all that was still to come, both this weekend and in the long future ahead of them—Halloweens and birthdays; affectionate goodbyes and passionate reunions; time spent among their friends and _ especially _ time spent alone together, proving their love for each other over and over again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> On behalf of everyone who contributed, thank you so much for reading our story! We had a lot of fun writing this over the past couple months. I am personally stoked and honored to have written something with these amazing people. 
> 
> Some of us have collaborated on other projects together (and I’m sure more of that will happen in the future), plus we’ve all written a ton of Souyo, so check out our profiles for more good stuff.
> 
> And if you, like me, are displeased that you can't leave kudos on each chapter, please consider leaving a comment on each chapter instead! ^_^


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